


Summertime Madness

by thoughtsappear



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Campfire stories, Fishing, Gen, Lots of Crying, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Pre-Canon, Russian Skate Fam, Underage Drinking, Yuri is suffering, important hair cuts, my headcanons about georgi, prince songs, russian dacha, setting up future events, written for bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 15:51:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11924169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtsappear/pseuds/thoughtsappear
Summary: The summer before his senior debut was the worst summer of Yuri Plisetsky’s young life.Russian skate fam shenanigans, lots of tears, important haircuts, and other ways to bond.





	Summertime Madness

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Yuri On Ice Ship Bingo square Yuri P./Victor/Georgi.

The summer before his senior debut was the worst summer of Yuri Plisetsky’s young life. 

Within a period of three weeks Georgi broke up with Katya, Victor broke up with Igor and Mila joined the team. Mila was more mature and emotionally stable than either of them. She seemed to enjoy picking Yuri up and holding him over her head. He hated the hag.

Georgi and Victor cried a lot that summer. They’d set each other off. Georgi was still friends with Katya on facebook and he’d show them all pictures of her with her new boyfriends, and that would lead Victor down a spiral and the whole rink would echo with their tears. 

Yuri would find himself doing suicides just to get away from it all. That was also the summer when Yakov started wearing a hat more often, and the summer that Yuri discovered that jerking off into a pillow was the only way he could fall asleep on those nights when every inch of his body ached and his mind wouldn’t shut up.

It all came to a head the Friday that would have been Katya and Georgi’s six month anniversary, when Georgi was so distraught he couldn’t skate and all he did for an entire practice was listen to Nothing Compares 2 U on repeat. Victor was supposed to go to the airport for a weekend trip to Paris with Christophe Giacommeti, but the idiot overslept and missed his flight. He couldn’t get on another flight until Tuesday, and so he came to practice late, in a horrible mood and dragging three pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage behind him. 

Yuri hadn’t slept because his host family had a new baby, that apparently hated the idea of sleeping more than a two hour stretch. It just so happened his room was next door to the nursery, and half the time the mother didn’t get there until the baby was crying hysterically. Yuri would lay there wide awake, waiting for the baby to quiet down, and then by the time he was falling asleep again, the baby would wake up and the cycle would continue.

Yakov yelled at Georgi while he listened to his music, Victor complained about Aeroflot, and Mila said nothing but laughed when Yuri popped his triple after she bragged about landing every jump for the entire practice. So later, when Mila was “resting” on a pile of coats while Viktor practiced his new program, something overwrought and dramatic, Yuri chewed up a wad of bubblegum and jammed it into her hair. 

She didn’t notice until practice was over and she was combing through the strands. She shrieked, louder than Victor’s whining or Georgi’s crying. By then Yuri had already moved on to antagonizing some of Victor’s fans online and when he saw how bad it was, he started to feel guilty. The gum had taken most of the hair with it, and she’d have to cut most of it out. She didn’t suspect him at least. 

Yakov threw down his hat and left the rink without saying goodbye or giving anyone any last minute criticism. He also cancelled practice on Monday. Yuri was not pleased. Practice was his escape from his host family. He didn’t have enough money to get back to Moscow and he didn’t have anywhere else to go.

When Georgi invited them all to his family’s dacha Yuri weighed his options very carefully. No matter where he went, there was going to be crying. But at least at Georgi’s there was a whole forest he could hide in.

That was how Yuri found himself in a car with Victor and Georgi making the hour drive to Georgi’s summer house. Not ten minutes in and he already kind of regretted it. Victor and Georgi had already fought over the music three times. Georgi wanted to listen to nothing but Prince, Victor wanted Donna Summer. Yuri wanted his headphones.

Georgi’s car was very large and shiny, in much better shape than Grandpa’s or Yakov’s. There were no crumbs on the seats or scratches on the paint. Yuri didn’t know much about Georgi when they first started training together, but when he told Grandpa the names of his rinkmates, Grandpa made a little clicking noise when he heard Georgi’s last name. When pressed, Grandpa said that Georgi’s father was very rich. Yuri didn’t doubt that now. Georgi always had the nicest, newest skates, and designer clothes. He took his girlfriends on dates to fancy restaurants and bought them jewelry in blue boxes. Yuri knew that it cost lots of money for Yakov to train them. He knew that Grandpa sent Yakov checks every month and there was rarely much left. He couldn’t wait until he was old enough to get sponsorships and do ice shows to make money like Victor did. Victor was rich too, but at least he worked for it.

They’d been training together for only a few months when Georgi decided to give away all his belongings. Yuri didn’t care much about it, until Georgi gave him a studded leather backpack, that according to Mila, cost 10,000 rubles. Then Yuri decided Georgi wasn’t so bad. 

The traffic heading out of the city was atrocious. They were crawling along, with the three of them getting bored with the view of the same road signs over and over. Victor and Georgi weren’t even arguing about music. 

Victor started talking first.

“Something has been bothering me,” he said doing that hair toss thing he thought was so charming. His long princess hair helped the effect. Yuri often thought about cutting it off in his sleep or sticking a wad of gum in it, but even he had limits. If Victor lost his hair, it would probably destroy him entirely. 

Georgi looked up from the steering wheel. He’d been tapping his nails on the leather cover. They were painted black. It looked badass. Maybe he could ask Georgi to let him borrow the polish. 

“What?” he asked, settling into his seat.

“Katya, before you broke up…” Victor squirmed. Yuri leaned forward between the two seats in front of him to hear better. “She made a pass at me.”

Georgi tightened his fingers around the steering wheel and took a deep breath. “What did you do, Victor?”

“I told her I wasn’t interested,” Victor replied quickly. “I swear I didn’t touch her.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Georgi eased his foot off the gas as they crept forward and stopped again.

“Because I thought you should know what kind of person she is,” Victor said, glancing back at Yuri who was watching this exchange with great interest.

“Katya is an angel. How did I know you didn’t make a pass at her?”

Victor laughed. “Really, Georgi? She’s the one who cheated on you, and yet you accuse me?”

Georgi let go of the steering wheel completely. “She didn’t.”

Yuri shook his head. Everyone knew about Katya and the hockey team. And the other hockey team. And the guy that drove the zamboni.

“I felt bad about not telling you sooner, because I thought maybe she just had a lapse in judgment. But if you think she was an angel, you are even more deluded than usual.”

Victor twisted around in his seat to look at Yuri who was trying to make himself look small and insignificant in the back seat. “Yuri, you saw her with Liev. Mila told me.”

Yuri opened his mouth. “Yeah, after practice one day--”

Georgi slammed on the brake. “I don’t care!”

He leaned over and turned up the stereo. Prince began wailing about the beautiful ones. Yuri wondered how long it would take him to hitch hike to Moscow.

 

==

They got to the dacha shortly before midnight. The drive had been uncomfortable. Georgi and Victor weren’t speaking and Yuri’s phone lost all connection once they left the city. 

He’d heard Prince’s greatest hits at least six times before even Georgi was sick of it. The three of them dragged their bags inside. Yuri had a backpack and Georgi had two large duffle bags, while Victor had his designer luggage. They were only going to be away for the weekend. Yuri looked at Victor’s overstuffed bags. What could he possibly be packing?

Georgi pointed Yuri to a room down a hallway. It was obviously meant for children, with a crayon motif and a large bunkbed pushed to the middle. Yuri didn’t mind though, and he threw his bag on the lower bunk, and promptly fell asleep in his clothes on the top bunk.

He was awoken the next day by Georgi coming into his room, climbing up the ladder and shaking his foot. 

“Yuri, breakfast!”

Yuri swatted at his hand, and grumbled as Georgi pulled open the curtains to the room, letting in light and allowing Yuri to really see the room he was staying in. It was even worse the he thought. There was a baby crib in one corner, but thankfully no baby.

Yuri dragged himself out of bed and stumbled after Georgi. He was standing in front of a small, old fashioned kitchen not unlike the one at Grandpa’s house. Georgi’s hair was damp and he was wearing pajama pants and a plain gray t-shirt. He looked normal. 

Yuri ate the small portion of fried eggs and sausage that Georgi had prepared for him. It was better than the food at his host family’s house. He cleaned his plate in the tiny sink and placed it in the drying rack and accepted the cup of coffee Georgi pressed into his hand.

“Go bring this to Victor,” he requested. Normally Yuri would scowl and protest being asked to do such things, but he was a guest in this place, and Grandpa had given him a long lecture about how he was to treat the Popovichs while staying with them. 

Victor was still asleep in the room next to Yuri’s. Yuri could see his bare foot poking out of the bed, which was adorned with an old rose covered quilt. He was also snoring, which amused Yuri greatly. The great Victor Nikiforov, world champion snorer.

Yuri slid the cup of coffee onto the nightstand next to Victor’s phone, careful not to spill any. Then he undid any of the goodwill he’d earned by jumping right on top of Victor’s sleeping back.

Victor swore in a couple different languages and then shoved Yuri to the floor. He was laughing too hard to even feel it. As he fell from the bed, he took half of Victor’s blankets with him, which meant that Victor was exposed. Apparently he slept naked. Yuri did not need to be made aware of that fact.

Yuri threw the blankets back on top of him. “Cover yourself up, old man!”

He didn’t wait for Victor to get out of bed and instead he trudged back towards the room he was staying in. Georgi was already in there, making his bed.

“Victor still sleeps naked?”

Yuri froze. “How do you know that?”

Georgi tossed a pillow back in place and easily slid down the ladder. “We’ve shared many hotel rooms.”

“Thank you,” Yuri said, feeling a bit out of place as Georgi fussed about the room. 

“I’m sorry about the room,” Georgi said. He was frowning at some hand marks next to the closet doors. “This was me and Natasha’s room.”

Georgi noticed Yuri’s confused expression. “My sister. She’s a fashion model and lives in London.”

Yuri didn’t know Georgi had a sister. He didn’t know much about him at all. He knew he had money, that he liked Prince and that he really seemed to be into the color black. His skating was good, but he was constantly in Victor’s shadow. He could do everything Yakov ever asked of him without arguing, but Victor was still the golden boy. 

He still found Georgi annoying as shit though. 

They could hear Victor banging around in the kitchen, so Georgi sighed and headed to see what he was up to. Yuri followed mostly because Georgi and Victor were still mad at each other and he didn’t want to miss anything.

Victor was drinking the cup of coffee that Yuri had given him, but he was trying to make his own breakfast.

Georgi wordlessly pulled a plate out from under a few hot towels and handed him the same breakfast he’d made for Yuri. Victor ate ravenously, and wiped his hands on a dish towel. 

He still wouldn’t make eye contact with Georgi and they talked through Yuri. He already knew that was going to get old. 

“What’s there to do around here?” Yuri asked. He’d seen some old board games in the bedroom, but they were baby games. 

“I’m going fishing,” Georgi said. “There’s poles and tackle in my father’s study. You could also go bird watching, you could work in the garden, you could take a nice hike, there’s some lovely trails outside.”

Yuri blanched at the idea of doing any of those things with Victor. He had no clue how to fish, and watching birds sounded dreadfully boring. He wondered if that garden was anything like Grandpa’s, at least he could weed a little. 

Victor grumbled. “Is it just the three of us? I thought your family had hired help.”

“Not at the dacha,” Georgi replied. He made a point of taking Victor’s empty plate and rinsing it in the old sink and placing it beside the other two. 

Victor pouted. “I should be in Paris right now.”

Yuri looked over at Victor, who was still wearing a face of deep regret and then looked out the window at the overgrown garden.

“I’ll go fishing with you,” he decided. Georgi grinned and pointed behind him. “Go get dressed and put on sunscreen.” Yuri looked down at his tiger hoodie and black jeans. He thought he was dressed, but oh well.

Fishing was easy. He just had to stand very still and be quiet. Two things he was good at. Georgi had shown him several times how to bait his hook, and Yuri had poked his fingers so many times that Georgi had finally taken over and done it for him. Now they were standing at the edge of the water, on either end, watching aimlessly for their poles to bob or jerk.

Yuri didn’t mind too much that they were out of the city. He was hot in his jeans and t-shirt and he could feel the sun boring into his shoulders, but he held fast to his pole and tried his best to stay awake even though watching the line in the water was getting boring. He had no idea how long they’d been out there, but he knew it probably felt a lot longer than it actually was. 

He watched Georgi pull a gorgeous fish out of the river with ease, slip the hook out of its mouth and then throw it back in.

Yuri gaped. “Why did you let it go?”

Georgi baited his hook and easily cast his reel a second time. “We’re only fishing for sport, Yuri. None of these fish are worth eating and besides there’s plenty of food back at the house.”

Knowing he was just going to send the fish back took some of the excitement out of it for Yuri and so he let his line grow slack, so slack that he could feel a fish tugging on the line and before he could pull it back, the fish was gone and so was his bait. 

Georgi just laughed, let him try to bait his hook again, and then when he couldn’t, gave his pole to Yuri so he could bait it for him. This carried on for a few more hours. Georgi catching fish, throwing them back, taking pictures of the most impressive ones, and Yuri getting more and more impatient with the process as he kept losing his bait to tricky fish who were nibbling on the line without pulling hard enough for him to tell. 

By lunchtime, Yuri was over the whole fishing thing. He wanted to be indoors, out of the sun and away from seafood. Georgi made them sandwiches and they woke up Victor, who’d been sleeping on the couch with a book over his chest. Yuri picked it up and noticed it was only on page 2.

Victor and Georgi were still icy to each other. They ate their sandwiches in silence, and Yuri had to remind himself of the alternatives. After lunch he talked Georgi into letting him explore the area around the house while Victor continued reading his book and Georgi worked on the garden.

Yuri liked the tall trees and the rocks. He liked that he could watch the water in a tiny creek and he could hear birds chirping above him. He wished he had his cat with him, Potya would have loved to chase them all. It was nice to be alone for once, and not have to worry about skating, or working out or all the drama. He wandered as far as he dared, the only thing keeping him from getting lost was a desire not to have Victor and Georgi freak out over “losing” him. 

Back at the cabin they ate a solemn dinner, built a fire and sat around the living room, bored to tears. Yuri was ready to go to bed just to have something to do. There was still a tension between Georgi and Victor, and Yuri wished they could just get over it already. 

Finally Victor spoke to Georgi, “Got anything to drink around here?”

“You didn’t pack anything in those ridiculous bags?” Georgi said. He got up and rummaged around in the kitchen. “My cousins must have cleaned us out last month…”

Victor was pouting like an idiot as Georgi frowned, hands on his hips.

His face brightened. “Unless--” He made a mad dash towards the study and Yuri and Victor exchanged a puzzled look. 

Georgi came out of his father’s study carrying three old bottles. “This is Papa’s vodka.”

Victor clapped his hands. He rummaged around in the cabinet and produced three small shot glasses. The three of them stood up in the kitchen and raised their shots. 

Yuri was glad to be included. He accepted his shot and downed it as the other two did, both commenting loudly about the taste. The vodka tasted like antiseptic to him, but Yuri knew better than to say anything. 

Victor tapped the counter with his glass. “Another, Georgi.”

Georgi poured three more messy shots and Yuri accepted his. They did their second shots quickly, and Yuri shuddered as it burned all the way down. He wasn’t sure if it was bad vodka or if he just needed to get used to it. 

Yuri watched the two of them start to let their guards down. He’d seen a drunken Victor a few times by now, and it wasn’t pretty. Victor’s face was flushed and he was already mopping sweat from his brow. If he was already warm, after a few more drinks his clothes would start coming off and Yuri wasn’t sure he wanted to be nearby. Yuri had never actually seen Georgi get drunk. He always excused himself after a glass of wine. 

“Georgi, I’m sorry,” Victor said, pouring himself and Georgi another shot. This time Yuri was glad he wasn’t included. “I never should have said anything about Katya.”

“Katya was a whore!” Georgi proclaimed, clinking glasses with Victor.

“You can do better,” Victor agreed. He was already starting to unbutton the neck of his shirt. Yuri slowly started backing out of the kitchen. He knew what was coming. 

“Yuri!” 

Yuri stopped trying to escape to his room. He looked up to see the two of them, both red faced and blurry eyed, still passing the bottle back and forth between them. Victor stumbled over and wrapped an arm around Yuri’s shoulders.

“Yuri, you are going to grow up and be the best skater in the world. You will win gold medals, you will master jumps no one has ever dreamed off.” Victor’s arm around his shoulders squeezed. Yuri tried to squirm away. Victor’s breath smelled like rotten potatoes. Yuri was short enough to slip under his arm and retreat toward the kitchen. Victor was hot on his trail, carrying the now almost empty bottle of vodka and looking for another. 

“You know how you will do this?” Victor added, pouring the remaining drops of Vodka into a glass and pushing it over to Yuri.

“Don’t try to date. All you need to care about is your skating. Don’t let girls or boys distract you,” Victor waggled a finger at Yuri.

“I miss Katya so much,” Georgi said, holding his face in his hands. 

“See?” Victor said.

“You’re not any better!” Yuri proclaimed. He took the glass and drank it down. They were such idiots. Lovesick morons. He would never act like that. He was never going to fall in love. He would be fine. He would be the best. 

“Yeah, you’re one to talk Vitya,” Georgi cried. “I know for a fact you made a fake instagram profile to stalk Igor’s new boyfriend.”

“Who told you that?”

Georgi pointed at Yuri, who immediately froze. “You asked me how to do it!”

“Anyway, Alexei Romanov is the fake name you use to check-in at hotels,” he added. “It wouldn’t be that hard to figure out.”

Georgi stood up and opened the second bottle of vodka. While he was distracted, Yuri took the last one and hid it behind him. He’d stash it under the bottom bunk to keep these two assholes from burning the place down.

Victor looked like he wanted to murder them both for a moment. Then he sighed and nodded. 

“I miss that fucking asshole. Did you know his new boyfriend looks just like me?” He said, running his fingers through his long messy hair.

“Igor said his favorite thing about me was my hair.” Victor grabbed a chunk of it and shook it. “Do you have any scissors?”

Yuri felt powerless to stop them as Georgi started digging around in the drawers, before producing a pair of clean kitchen shears. 

Yuri gave up trying to hide the vodka bottle. “Victor no!”

“I know what I’m doing,” Victor said, heading into the bathroom with the scissors. It was a small room, with a dingy old mirror and only a lone bulb for light. 

“Georgi, help me!” Yuri followed him, but made one last attempt for back up.

Georgi was sobbing on the couch. “Nothing compaaaaares to you.” Apparently drunk Georgi was just like sober Georgi. 

Yuri watched with horror as Victor raised the scissors and began hacking at his long hair. They weren’t sharp enough for this work, and he had to make several attempts until a long silver strand fell to the floor. He didn’t stop and instead wore a face of delight and determination until he’d chopped his almost waist length hair into a choppy mess. 

It looked jagged and awful. Yuri knew that Victor would wake up and freak out about what he’d done, but trying to wrestle the scissors out of his hands had proved futile. He sighed, took the last bottle of vodka into his bedroom and shut the door. He could still hear Georgi crying and Victor’s manic laughter as he crawled into bed and threw a pillow over his face. 

==

He woke the next morning to the sound of slamming doors. Yuri groaned, rubbed his eyes and dragged himself out of bed to see what was going on. 

“Why did you let me do this?” Victor screamed at Georgi. Victor was crawling around on the bathroom floor, grabbing at the discarded chunks of hair. Georgi was holding his head in his hands, dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and boxers. They both looked like shit. 

“Shut up!” Georgi returned. “Stop yelling at me! It’s not my fault!”

“You gave me the scissors!”

“I tried to stop you,” Yuri said. Despite the liquor he’s had, he felt fine. The yelling was a bit annoying but he was used to it.

“Yuri is a true friend,” Victor said. He dropped a shock of silver hair as he stood up and frowned at them both. He looked rather pathetic with huge bags under his eyes and his messy hair sticking out at odd angles. 

“At least I didn’t hit on your girlfriend!” Georgi stepped into Victor’s space in a way that would be threatening if he was anyone else.

“She hit on me!”

“You two need to shut the fuck up!” Yuri said. They both looked at him, completely surprised. 

“I need to throw up,” Victor said, dropping back to his knees and hugging the toilet bowl.

Yuri backed out of the bathroom and made his way into the kitchen to forage for breakfast. Georgi and Victor didn’t quite seem like they would be any help in that regard. He made a pot of tea and fried some eggs. Victor walked into the room, wearing an old hat, but his horrible haircut was still visible underneath. Georgi came in as well and thanked Yuri for cleaning up his mess. The three of them had an uncomfortable breakfast, with Victor and Georgi wincing whenever there was any noise louder than a whisper. Yuri made sure to slam the doors extra hard and stomp as much as he could for good measure. 

“Yuri,” Georgi said, as he threw the two empty bottles of vodka away. “There were 3 bottles. What happened to the other one?”

He looked nervous, and Yuri retreated to his room to produce it. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to keep it hidden?” he asked, before allowing Georgi to replace it in his father’s study.

“I’m not planning on drinking any more while we’re here,” Georgi said. “And Victor doesn’t have any hair to spare.”

“If he cuts anymore, he’ll be bald,” Yuri quipped, earning a laugh from Georgi. He then clutched at his head. 

Yuri spent the evening and afternoon working in the garden while Georgi and Victor nursed their hangovers. He found it soothing, tackling weeds and repairing rows while humming to himself. He enjoyed the outdoors, always had. He liked working with his hands, never had a problem getting up close with the dirt.

By the afternoon, both Georgi and Victor had recovered but Victor wouldn’t take off his hat. 

“You’re just like Yakov,” Yuri complained, which earned a severe look from Victor.

“He doesn’t want anyone to know his hair is thinning, so he’s started wearing that hat more often,” Yuri added nonchalantly.

“My hair is not thinning!” shrieked Victor, tugging at the brim of his hat. “As soon as we get back to the city I will have it fixed and it will be the best looking hair you’ve ever seen.”

Georgi patted his own hair, which was as thick and shiny as it ever was. He was rather low maintenance when he wasn’t performing, which Yuri appreciated. Georgi had surprised him in several ways during this trip.

He didn’t usually feel sorry for Georgi, but he was starting to now. He didn’t deserve for Katya to treat him like that. Or any of the other girls he dated. The whole thing mostly just reconfirmed to Yuri that relationships were stupid. Especially not with girls. Although from what Victor had said, it sounded like boys weren’t any better.

He had to admit he liked it better when Georgi and Victor got along and made each other cry a lot more than when they were mad and didn’t speak at all. At least when they were crying they tended to be funny to watch. When they were mad things would just be uncomfortable. 

==

Georgi built a fire and the three of them crowded around it. It was warm out and Yuri’s sweatshirt and t-shirt provided plenty of warmth along with the roaring fire. They cooked sausages and potatoes over the flames. It was rather peaceful outside, the moon was large and bright above them, and Georgi and Victor were in better moods now that they were no longer hungover. 

They were speaking again and Victor wasn’t wearing the hat, letting his strange hair flop out over his ears. They were talking and laughing in front of the fire, and for the first time since the weekend had started, Yuri wished they could stay a little longer. Tomorrow they’d be on their way back to St.Petersburg, back to their diets, back to training, back to being yelled at by Yakov and screaming babies and everything there. Yuri didn’t miss much.

Georgi was eating a sausage from a long skinny stick and laughing at something Victor said. They both grinned at Yuri when he sat down between them.

“I don’t have any brothers,” Georgi started. Victor immediately looked sick and he glanced at Yuri. “I think if I had a little brother, I would want him to be like you, Yuri.”

Yuri felt sick but the look on Georgi’s face was so sincere, he simply nodded and looked down, pretending to be overcome with emotion.

“And you Victor, you really are like my brother. I would do anything for you.”

Victor hugged Georgi and they each wiped away a tear. Yuri begrudgingly got roped into the hug and gingerly lifted his head out of Victor’s armpit. 

“Now what do we do?” Georgi said, after they had eaten and the sun was down. 

“We tell scary stories?” Yuri asked. “Mila said that’s what she does at slumber parties.”

“I know a scary story!” Victor started. “My friend Ian’s friend Simon’s friend’s sister, once went to a dacha just like this. They heard scratching at their door all night and ignored it thinking it was just a tree blowing in the wind, when they woke up, it was a dead body, scratching at the door, trying to get in!”

“That’s not scary.” Yuri crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s dumb. You’re dumb Victor.”

“Okay, I know a really scary story,” Georgi said. He lowered his voice dramatically and made sure to meet both of their eyes before continuing. Georgi did always have a flair for drama and unlike Victor, he could turn it on and off at will.

“Once upon a time, there were three men just like us, staying at a dacha in northern st. petersburg. The three men stayed in the cabin for two nights, with no problems, but on the third night, they went downstairs to get some candles and they started reading from a book. The book was actually a gateway to a hell dimension, and evil demons attacked them and ate their skin. Their bodies were never found!”

“That’s a movie,” Yuri said. He frowned at them both. “You guys suck at telling scary stories. You need to get out more.”

“Okay Yuri,” Georgi grinned and sat back against a log he’d propped himself up against. “Your turn.”

“Okay,” Yuri stood up for extra drama, brushed dirt and soot off his pants and gave each Georgi and Victor a serious look for more impact.

“There was a boy named Ludwig who had stage fright on ice. He was the most beautiful skater during practice but when he competed he would flub all his jumps and forget his step sequence. He did so badly that he got a negative score. He was a laughing stock of the entire ISU and he ran off into Siberia, never to be seen again.”

“That’s not true,” Victor said with a grimace. “Nobody ever gets a negative score.”

“I once had a nightmare that was just like that,” Georgi said with a frown. “It was terrifying.”

“I once had a nightmare that I landed a quad axel and nobody believed me.” Victor stared into the fire solemnly. 

“I’m gonna land one someday,” Yuri declared. 

“I know you will.” Victor patted him on the head. Yuri let him for a moment, then snarled and swatted at his hand. 

==  
The drive back to St. Petersburg was easier than the drive in. There was much less traffic and Victor and Georgi’s spirits were lighter. Georgi even let Victor drive, which was the scariest 3 minutes of Yuri’s life. Once they got back into the city, Yuri felt a little sad to drop Victor off at his apartment, or to pull his backpack out of the car and go back to his host family’s house. 

But he didn’t let either of them hug him goodbye. 

==

Mila showed up at the rink dressed in her normal practice gear, that little crop top she was so fond of, and her bag slung over her shoulder. When she turned her head and took it off, she exposed that the underside of her head had been shaved.

“I like your hair,” Georgi said, pausing before heading into the men’s locker room.

“Yeah, I had to cut it, because of the gum,” she shrugged. She ran her fingers over it, back and forth. Yuri wondered what it must feel like. It actually looked pretty cool. Yuri was relieved. He didn’t feel any guilt about sneaking one of Georgi’s dirty socks into her practice bag the next time she hoisted him up and pretended to bench press him when Yakov’s back was turned. 

Practice went by without incident. Yuri landed all his triples and was allowed to work on one quad. Georgi was banned from choosing any music, to everyone’s relief. Victor was finally on his way to Paris after an emergency visit to his hairstylist, which meant they all got more solo time, and by the end of practice, everyone felt like things were back to normal.

Mila’s latest hockey playing boyfriend came to pick her up, but Georgi offered to give Yuri a ride home so he waited for Georgi to gather his things and put on his skate guards. As they stepped off the ice, a girl about Georgi’s age came down the stairs, with two men trailing behind her. 

Yuri could already see it happening and he watched as Georgi took her in. He stood up immediately, and held the door to the rink as the girl paused to pull off her warm ups and slipped off her skate guards. 

“Are you new to the rink?” Georgi asked. 

“Yes, I just switched partners, I’m an ice dancer,” the girl said, as the two men with her exchanged a look and trudged on toward the ice without her.

“Explains why we’ve never met, I’m in men’s singles. What’s your name?” Georgi was leaning toward her, in that flirtatious way he had. Yuri groaned and tried tugging at Georgi’s team russia jacket sleeve, but he just pulled his arm away.

“Anya Preobrazhenskaya.”

Anya reached out a hand for him to shake, but Georgi kissed it instead. “Georgi Popovitch, it’s a pleasure.”

Yuri pretended to drop something and bent down to quickly tie the ends of Georgi’s skate laces together. He didn’t even notice as he talked and flirted with this girl. This wasn’t the first time Yuri’d done this, and he had it down to a science. He stomped up the bleachers and waited. 

Finally Anya continued to the ice, and Georgi turned to leave. She was still watching him when he lifted one of his skates and the other came with it. Yuri put his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter as Georgi fell up the stairs of the rink with everyone watching.

“Yuriiiiii!” 

Yuri drew his hood up and clenched the drawstring tight. It would take Georgi a moment to untangle his skates, and by the time he got to the locker room, Yuri would be long gone. 

He’d lost his ride, so he had to take the bus instead. It was a longer route, so Yuri pulled out his phone, and looked for the video he’d bookmarked to watch later. It was a Japanese skater’s free program posted by someone named Phichit. Yuri settled into a bus seat, kept his head down and pushed play.


End file.
